Definition

Google Business Profile (GBP) is the listing a business owner claims and manages in Google to control how their business appears in Google Search results, the Local Pack and Google Maps.

Google's guidelines require profiles to represent the business as it is consistently represented in the real world — across signage, stationery and other branding. The profile holds the business name, category, address or service area, opening hours, phone number, website, photos, products and reviews. GBP data feeds the Local Pack, the local knowledge panel and Maps results, and is governed by Google's prohibited and restricted content rules. Google Business Profile is the current name for what was previously called Google My Business.

Examples

• Restaurant owner

  A restaurant owner claims their Google Business Profile, adds opening hours, a menu link, current photos and the restaurant category. The listing appears in the Local Pack and Maps with a Knowledge Panel on Search.

• Multi-location retailer

  A retail chain manages one Google Business Profile per shopfront so each store surfaces with its own address, hours and reviews when nearby customers search.

Sources

• Google Business Profile Help — Guidelines for representing your business on Google

Related terms

• Local SEO
  The practice of optimising a business's online presence to surface in location-based search results, including the Local Pack and Google Maps.
• Local Pack
  A group of local business listings displayed with a map on Google Search, ranked by Google's local algorithm using relevance, distance and prominence.
• Knowledge Panel
  An information box in Google's search results, automatically generated for an entity from sources like the Knowledge Graph and the open web.
• Citation
  A mention of a business's name, address or phone number on another website, which Google can use as a signal when understanding a local business.
• Schema Markup
  Structured data added to a page that describes its content to search engines in a machine-readable format.

Where QueryCatch uses this

• Local Business Schema
• SEO Audit